Chronicle/Kendra Stanley-MillsMike Moblo of Muskegon, right, carries two chenille bedspreads for a customer while talking with Wayne VanderWel, 74, of Muskegon, about something else for sale in the basement during the estate sale of Muskegon industrialist L.C. Walker and his son, Shaw Walker, Tuesday at 1635 Mills in North Muskegon. The sale continues through Thursday. Photo gallery

MUSKEGON — The Walker estate sale that started Tuesday drew the expected antique dealers and collectors.

But for those looking for a connection to Muskegon’s past, it was anything but a typical estate sale.

Dozens of older Muskegon-area residents with memories of L.C. Walker, Shaw Walker and the furniture company that bore their name gathered at the Walker estate sale to see a bit of history and share stories of how they knew the family.

The L.C. Walker and Shaw Walker estate sale will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at 1635 Mills, North Muskegon. Wednesday the items will be marked down by one-third, and Thursday everything will be half-price.

L.C. Walker owned Shaw-Walker office furniture company and was vice president of Hackley Union National Bank and president of Muskegon Federal Savings and Loan Association. His donations created the L.C. Walker Arena, Walker Collection of Hackley Art Gallery and Walker Park in North Muskegon.

He died in 1963, and his son Shaw Walker died in 2009.

Betty Walker, widow of Shaw Walker, said most items are being sold below their appraised value and might have fetched a higher price in Chicago, but she wanted local people to have a chance to buy the things that don’t fit in her new, smaller home.

IF YOU GO

What: The L.C. Walker and Shaw Walker estate sale.

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Thursday

Where: 1635 Mills, North Muskegon

Judy Marcinkowski, of Whitehall, said her mother worked part-time in Shaw and Betty Walker’s house.

“Of coures we had to come and see if there was anything to bring back the memories,” she said.

A suitcase customized with L.C. Walker’s wife Margaret’s initials jogged her mother’s memory, but Marcinkowski bought a woven basket with North Muskegon’s old downtown stores painted on it instead. The stores included Winter’s Variety, Holme’s Drug Store and Kroger, making the basket a steal at $6, Marcinkowski said.

Lorraine Finney, of Muskegon Heights, said the Walkers were a client back when she worked at Bee’s Diaper Service on Peck Street. Her husband also worked for the Shaw-Walker furniture company. She planned to buy a dish as a memento.

Chronicle/Kendra Stanley-MillsStacey Bernethy, 41, of Nunica peeks into the window at 1635 Mills in North Muskegon Tuesday while waiting her turn to be allowed inside during the estate sale of Muskegon industrialist L.C. Walker and his son, Shaw Walker. Bernethy said she was just interested in "household stuff." The sale is scheduled hrough Thursday. Photo gallery

“This is a big deal to me,” she said. “I used to do their kids’ diapers.”

Harry Karel, of Muskegon Township, said he used to give Betty Walker a ride home from work sometimes before she married Shaw Walker. He said he was just there to look.

For other customers, though, it was all about finding the right item for their collections.

Bessie Apostle, of Spring Lake, came looking for shelves and for rotary telephones, the kind with the wheel you spin to dial. Another collector beat her to a mint green phone, but there were at least two more in other colors in the basement.

Susan Bednarek, co-owner of Edmonds & Engemann, the company running the sale, wasn’t surprised to find two phone collectors at the same sale.

“You have no clue what will sell,” she said. “Muskegon has very varied collectors. What will attract one will not attract another.”

Bednarek said some shoppers look at online estate sale ads, and others Google a specific item they want. She said she had gotten calls from as far away as New York, Chicago and Toledo, Ohio.

“For someone to come from Chicago, they have to know there’s enough quality for them to make the trip,” she said.

Brian Morrissey, of Flint, said he checked the sale items listed on Edmonds & Engemann’s web site before driving to North Muskegon. He sells antique books and records online.

“It seems like people (the Walkers) have been here a little longer than most, so the things are a little older,” he said. “They were educated, so they have some good books.”

Walker Estate SaleAn estate sale of Muskegon industrialist L.C. Walker and his son Shaw Walker started Tuesday. The sale, which is at the home of Mrs. Shaw Walker's mother, 1635 Mills, will be held through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Edmonds & Engemann co-owner Farr Hinton estimated it took three weeks to price the hundreds of items and prepare for the show.

Items for sale ranged from the opulent to the mundane, including antique games, a painted portrait of L.C. Walker, old-fashioned aspirin tins from a time when no one had yet heard of child-proofing, and enough dishes to invite much of Muskegon County over for a cup of tea or a glass of wine.

Sherry Kelley of Norton Shores, who was manning the jewelry and small valuables case, said she expects plenty of items to be left after the first day, because of their quality. She works for another seller, but agreed to help with the Walker sale.

“When you have things that are upwards of $1,000, it isn’t an impulse buy,” she said.